The idea of the three worlds is constantly shown in the second season, through the picture in the book young Elisabeth is reading. We realized that was insane to do on costs. Now we finally fill in the gaps and you see how the circle plays out. If you dont know where youre going, you can just write whatever. The Best 36 LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now How difficult was it for you, Baran, given that I assume you dont speak all, what, 10-12 languages your actors do? There are also a lot of things in Season 1 hinting to Season 3. We spoke to Dark co-creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese about saying farewell to the series, the spiritual and mythological influences they crammed into the third season's eight episodes,. Ahead, EW sat down with the creators to pick their brains about all of that and solve the mysteries of what viewers can ultimately expect when 1899 drops on Netflix on Nov. 17. We looked at all the characters and tried to find out whats really important, what we need to deliver.. Thats already in minute 10, 11. But in the end, it turned out to be way easier than we thought, because theres a sort of universal language, without words, going on while youre communicating with someone. They would go, God damn it! WithDark, the story is really so much about time, about using something linear and then making lots of knots, throwing it at the audience and getting them to figure out how to untangle it back into a more linear logic. "We worked on a database where every scene is broken down under certain circumstances. They would need to completely crash. Baran bo Odar: As we have so many different timelines and characters, we would figure out things like, if we use a certain color in this decade, we wont use it in another one. Fear not, Tudum is here for you. So you have 999. We could create a huge dining room only with the volume tech. These meet-cutes will bring on all the feels. But first, EPs Shannon Burke, Jonas and Josh Pate tell us all about the Season 3 finale. For Louis, being on set and shes entering the room with his jacket, the first reaction was like, Give me back my jacket! So, yeah, that was my personal gift that I wanted to give, but obviously still trying to be entertaining while giving it.. We wanted to have this beautiful mix of voices and languages." Every step they are doing, they're doing one after the other. You dont need to see it on screen. They will never be able to overcome their inner longings, their ego. Season 1 was tricky enough, but midway through the second season you may find yourself needing to construct a character yarn board on your wall to remember everything that's happened, who the various actors are depicting at various intervals along the timeline, and when any given scene is taking place. And we love to play with tools, because I think as a filmmaker, especially, you are like a child. It's really bad. bo Odar: It was a bit tricky at the beginning. ", But amid all the symbology and references to religion and philosophical theory, there is one very simple concept that unites it all: the notion of an immutable past that, quite literally, in this case, always catches up to the present, and in so doing, informs the future. Through three seasons of Dark very little made. Its not the kind of story that can be reworked and improvised on the fly with each passing group of episodes, as Friese can attest. Jantje Friese: 1899 is special because it's very topical - in 1899 people had a lot of racial prejudice, class prejudice, gender prejudice and so on. I think its a very individual thing. Weve heard people say its perfect timing because the issues in 1899 are very present today. The actors had to act like they are in a mirrored world. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. We wanted to be fair and just to each of the characters, but obviously some of the endings needed to be cut out or just arranged in a different way, Friese said. We had to get cars from England for some shots where the steering wheel had to be on the other side. In terms of the working process, what was good for us was to talk to the people who worked onThe Mandalorian and find out how they did it. Theres just an underrepresentation of the different European cultures, the different narratives from around the world. Your Burning Firefly Lane Questions Answered. "When I read it, I was like, 'I finally got it!' Letting all of that go, for me, feels very satisfying. But usually, its the theme that starts the whole process. Im obsessed with history, seeing how everything is related to each other, seeing the reasons for things. Is one powerful family to blame for the deaths of five people in the wilds of South Carolinas Lowcountry? We said, this is a determined world, or it's based on determinism. Friese: Yes. But that simple trick, listening to the music rather than trying to follow the words, that helped me a lot. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the new mystery-thriller series. The quote in the song from Emily Dickinsons poem, in the beginning, is really about experiencing all this weird shit going through your brain. 1899s full eight-episode first season streams on Netflix starting Thursday. We were actually really afraid of what was going on. Also the same as we did in Season 2 where we put a little bit focus on different characters like Claudia and Egon, were going to do the same in Season 3 and call some people up that had smaller parts. So theres always a tone in the end, which all mean something different. We planted it everywhere, but no one saw it yet. I had phonetic scripts, and I was constantly looking at the monitor and reading along, trying to follow the dialogue, which is hard in French, because theyre so fast, and is super hard in Cantonese, because that language feels like its from some other world. What happened in that period is that modernism clashed with old beliefs. One reference we did not use, and not because we dont like the film, because we loved it when it came out, wasTitanic. "We started in Season 2 to outsource my brain, so to say," Friese explained in a Zoom interview. You can search, for example, for a character, and then you see the character arc, or you can search for a timeline and then you can see everything that's happening in that timeline.". Thats the beauty of storytelling. Stuff like that always happens. It should feel different, because you have this image of a big steamship going from Europe to America and immediately you think this must be the cube version ofTitanic. Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar have earned patience. Friese laughed and added, "'For a short moment in time, you visited a parallel world where you actually had success!'". Because Im a very traditional filmmaker; I like to give the actors a lot of space and not limit them by saying, We just have this angle. We always approached it as a global show, but we never, never, never expected that kind of success.. But also hard because you have to rethink how youre used to shooting stuff. We always think we have to answer everything. Others were like: This has so many more complicated puzzle pieces, what are you guys doing? It just looked pretty. Interview edited and condensed for clarity. I love her! said Friese. I think thats really interesting. Jantje Friese (born 1977) is a German film producer and screenwriter known for co-creating the Netflix series Dark (2017-2020) and 1899 (2022) with her creative and romantic partner Baran bo Odar. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day, Inside the business of TV with breaking news, expert analysis and showrunner interviews. Now I can spoil it: There is already a hint in Episode 1 when everyone is raising their teacup at the same moment. But it also means props-wise, you have to change a lot of things like books and bookshelves. For answers to those questions and more, The Hollywood Reporter turned to Odar and Friese for a closer look at the final season of Dark. The one where EW follows up with the cast. Friese:There are always three key elements. What it's like to film a show in multiple-languages. So that is like five pages of conversation between the writer, the translator, the language expert: Here should they say tu or vous? It became a really complicated process. The thriller follows a forensics agent desperate for answers after finding out shes an identical triplet. I mean, we're always mixing genres, but the DNA is not per se a horror show.". What kind of trigger words do you use? That was one of the cornerstones to developing the third season. When you write, how do you plot things out? I always liked the idea that there are two components who are opponents, fighting each other all of the time, actually having to realize that they are not important. ", Odar mentioned that it was a children's book on quantum physics that finally made it all make sense to him sort of. We also decided to shoot that scene on the very, very last shooting day. I think you have to watch carefully, because every little piece means something. In talking about a mirror world, though, we wanted to use that trick and actually mirror the images. All Rights Reserved. We dont think theres only one answer to a thing. Dark couldnt cast people who were too distinct though, in the interests of the mystery. In terms of how long 1899 might run, Friese says the pair are trying their best to make it a multi-season show, but notes that "it depends on the viewers", as well as Netflix. Then if you know something about simulation or content creation in that space, maybe youdo understand what that means in our context. bo Odar: We always think any piece of pop culture should be a reference to some other element of pop culture. 101K views 5 years ago HeyUGuys interviews Director / Writer and creators Baran bo Odar & Jantje Friese for their brand new Netflix TV show Dark - the first original show to come out of Germany. We have to do this? But then they loved it, too. bo Odar: We dont have bad ideas. This series, like Dark, is a huge mystery, a mystery wrapped in an enigma. So hopefully, ultimately, that is happening. The passengers of the Kerberos encounter the biggest mystery of their lives. I think thats awesome. ", Friese says she was bothered by this for the first few months actively working on the scripts for 1899, but, "At some point, we just said, 'Let's shake it off.' Well send you our daily roundup of all our favorite stories from across the site, from travel to food to shopping to entertainment. "If you don't look at the narrative chronologically, but you pick out single characters and just look at their character arcs, it becomes a lot easier," Friese said. Thats why, for me, its a very happy ending, even though it feels very sad. In a time where new genre television content feels rare and must be savored at all costs, one specific rabid fandom has a show to sell you on: Dark, Netflixs German time travel thriller from creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. A lot went down between the lifelong friends like, a lot. But were not afraid of putting bad ideas on the table, because sometimes theres something small in a bad idea thats actually good that you should use. Hopefully it feels like something really fresh and new, while still [being] exactly what Dark fans would like to watch." And then the pandemic happens, the show was supposed to be shot in a very traditional way, where we would have gone to a water tank and we would have built ship set pieces and traveled to other countries to shoot scenes there and stuff like that," he says. So, you would have the English dialogue on the left side and then the translated dialogue for that character in their language on the right side. Friese: Also, we love objects that have multiple meanings. But we stumbled upon a picture of a man in a white shirt covered in blood, with a hammer in his hand and a really weird look on his face, standing on top of what looked like an old boat. When you work with time travel, you basically have to decide on one concept. When we got to the second season, we changed it again. That was a challenge I really loved. Some of the stuff we decided that you kind of figure it out yourself. And then we try to find a world of symbols that all ties into our theme," she says. Friese said, That was the centerpiece of it all. Whats the space in which youre telling your story? How do I free myself from my reactions to certain impulses? Friese:Our scripts look like Frankenstein monsters. Per the official synopsis, what they will find on board will turn their passage to the promised land into a horrifying nightmare. But you keep checking: Is it still working with the theme or do you need to shift that a bit? With all that in mind, they set out to make 1899, which follows the multicultural passengers of a migrant steamship heading west to leave the old continent, whose journey takes an unexpected turn when they discover another migrant ship adrift on the open sea. You were really, like, lovesick after filming was done. We put a dot, wait a little, and then we put a question mark at the end. I personally feel that a lot of very great philosophers came out of from German history. So with every project we did, we, we always had that in mind that one day we want to reach a global audience., After the 2014 film Who Am I No System Is Safe, a techno thriller thats been compared to Fight Club and Mr. Well, then how ambitious are you with this series? 1899, which made the TIFF Primetime Program Theyd shoot in one direction on the first day, and then basically turn the whole set around overnight and shoot the other direction. When we started, it was about what is the next step? Also, we actually thought about putting some of the stuff thats now in Season 3 into Season 2, but then decided to move it backwards. Honestly, the most difficult people to find were women [older than middle age]. Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese are absolute geniuses and have created an epic sci-fi story for smart people.they did not dumb it down at all even in the final season.the fact that this was an original idea and not based on a book etc gets them even more kudos.it's also obvious that they planned this entire story from the beginning and But the mid-ground, the thing in between, thats what actually glues these two layers together, and its the most important part of the whole process. But you can create huge worlds with it." Youre crossing into a new century, stepping from something that feels old school to something new the future. Also for [Lisa] because it was so iconic for Jonas as his character. Especially working on Cantonese was interesting, because they structure the language completely differently. So for all the fans out there: Sorry, there wont be any characters fromDarksuddenly appearing on the ship. Jantje Friese Actually, the idea and the spark for it happened years ago. And the older they get, it gets worse, said Friese. It definitely has a new look: Not like green screen but also not the same as a classic set, something very much its own thing. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. Today, in 2022, we are still there. Its the same word in English and German. The entire first season was filmed at the Dark Bay LED studio on the Studio Babelsberg lot outside Berlin. Poguelandia is not quite the paradise the Pogues hoped. There were lots of right-wing ideas bubbling up. One of the most challenging roles to cast was the nurse Ines who actually adopts Mikkel when he travels back to 1986. Friese credits casting director Simone Br for the series uncanny casting coups. Im still not sure about the percentage, but its probably 10 percent [of the mysteries] we are not goiong to answer just for the fun of it, but they will be smaller. The Creators of '1899' Reveal (Some of) the Secrets Behind the New Netflix Mystery Series Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, who also created the streamer's hit 'Dark,' are back with another meta. That was the beauty of it. It would have felt like selling our souls and not delivering on what we wanted to do [if we had more seasons]. All Rights Reserved. That was the initial plan. And thus, fans of this science fiction series can be found discussing Nietzsche and other philosophers, trying to unlock the shows themes of free will and fate, alongside the physics of time travel. Friese: Some people have already found a lot of the imagery and paintings we used [throughout the series]. Never mind that in her own time, everyone including her son was facing a certain apocalypse. It just gets complicated when you try to figure out what comes first.". Im in there with a recording of violins theres also some guy using an arc welder in the next cabin.. And as we go through the process, the ideas can shift and move into a different position. We can see that even if you dont really understand what words are being spoken, you understand what the other person is trying to communicate. It was really fun. What were the biggest challenges in establishing the parallel world? Were moving through a story, and we want to know how it will be resolved in the end. Very simple things like opening a door, you have to do it with your left hand. And we're just waiting for the moment where someone shows up and says, 'April Fool's! Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! You know if something is urgent or not important. Finally we could do whatever we wanted with them. This, this Volume technology, is the beginning of a new era of visual effects. For a long time, even already in film school, we had this urge to change that, to really have characters from particular countries speak in their own voices, because language really defines character. And that's the same here again, now with the pattern pyramid and the triangles. "I gave that to a couple of actors and they all had the same experience. Heres Everything You Need to Know, The Outer Banks Season 3 Trailer Just Washed Ashore, 1899 Ending Explained: Series Creators Reveal the Easter Eggs Leading to the Shocking Finale. "We always think we have. "I would say it's a drama mystery show, or maybe a mystery thriller. I just felt that was such a multilayered story. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. "In every season there is what I always call a bridge. "Because in their arc, the narrative is straightforward. It feels quite right and satisfactory. Related Mysteries about characters allegiances or motives are hard to separate from their ties to family fates. See how the filmmakers used Volume to create a story at sea. Dark Season 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Netflix. On set, Odar had phonetic scripts to reference as he directed scenes, and language assistants would be standing by to make sure nothing got lost in translation. Wllers eye isnt just a mystery, but one of the running jokes that makes Dark so rich. 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And I think, especially as a filmmaker, you love creating illusion. And the rest is just virtual in it, even with digital extras, which we used for the first time, which they didn't on Mandalorian. What did you learn using the new tech? In German, its so negative. We didnt try to make it easier. And in that script note, there would be a meta-conversation about language. It was really challenging for us in the third season to establish another world with maybe even other timelines, too. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. I went out with my large format camera and I was taking pictures of those locations like a fan. ', John Mulaney's New Netflix Special Is a Critical Reminder About Celebrity, 2023 Emmys Predictions: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie. The largest LED "Volume" of its kind in Europe, it unlocks the ability to capture a significant amount of complex visual effects shots in-camera through virtual sets and locations created with game engine technology, as opposed to a traditional green screen. Back in 2020, Jantje Friese revealed in an interview that Tyll is planned as a six-part miniseries: "Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann is designed as a six-part mini-series. ", Triangular symbols, such as those used in alchemy to denote the four elements, have popped up in the promo materials for the show so far. Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese are pulling back the veil on their new puzzle box show. But the novel is so voluminous that the miniseries format makes more sense." Immediately, I had the idea that this might be a migrant on a ship. I always loved that idea. Some will in Episode 1 understand its a simulation. Thirty-three years, the number [if you flip the first three around] is, combined, an eight. "We prepped a year to get there, because it is a beast that you have to understand. Fans of Netflix's twisty time travel series Dark will be happy (although perhaps not surprised) to hear that creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese's followup, 1899, is a real mind-bender. Is this a hopeful note in your mind? If a door was on the left side, it would then be on the right side in the other world. It was something to give to the actors. Even if the hair color is lighter or if they have freckles, then that kind of a hint. the prospect of diving into another twisty metaverse from the minds of Dark creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar likely comes with equal measures of excitement and trepidation. [1] Work [ edit] Jantje Friese studied production and media management at the University of Television and Film Munich. (Laughs.) Even 24 frames per second, creating motion from still frames, thats the first illusion you create as a filmmaker. In every season there is what I always call a bridge episode, because to me its like the bridge in a song Friese said. It always comes down to some kind of programming they had before them that you cannot choose because you cannot let go of the stuff that happened before you. Because Dark travels back and forth in time, dropping in on the same Winden residents at different ages in 33-year cycles, casting children, adults, and older versions of those characters is essential to sell the outlandish storytelling. ", Someone at Netflix mentioned the volume tech, and Odar and Friese were very impressed by how it looked. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. In an interview on Zoom, the Playtech team spoke to the producers and some of the cast of the psychological thriller 1899. . Some said: Oh, it felt more at ease, like it was easier to comprehend. So it was finding out which puzzle pieces need to go in there so that we have the feeling of the characters really going full circle. Friese: We didnt want to copy exactly the way we structured things inDark. When it came time for Martha (Lisa Vicari) to take on some of the some iconography that in previous seasons was associated with Jonas (Louis Hofmann), that exchange between the two main characters made for a moment that forced them and series co-creators Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar to recalibrate a little. Netflix series 1899 was shot entirely on a virtual LED Volume production stage at Studio Babelsberg. Teases Friese, "There's definitely a core theme in the center of 1899, as well, and it's basically looking at that core theme through a narrative, but it's not time travel. We thought: We really want to take a look at Europe, just take it, put it on a ship, in a confined space, with lots of ocean around, where you cant escape, and have like a little bit of an experiment, almost like a laboratory experiment.